Machine Head’s Robb Flynn Opens Up on Past Heroin Use in Remembrance of Late Friend

Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn is a verbose man, often collecting his thoughts in posts dubbed "The General Journals." In his latest column (post at the bottom of the page), Flynn opens up about the loss of his close friend to a heroin overdose, reflecting on the good times together along with the bad. The frontman also warned of the dangers of heroin, cautioning readers with a tale from his own heroin overdose before recording the band's Burn My Eyes debut.

Reminiscing about Jack, Machine Head's former guitar tech and merch guy, Flynn first discussed the funeral at which he read the eulogy for his departed friend. From there, he dialed back the clock to happier times on tour like when everyone was drunk and Flynn smacked Jack in the keister with a two foot long stick of salami. Describing the scene, Flynn wrote, "He looks at me and yells, 'That’s it, show's over, f--kers!!!' as he runs into bunk alley and slams the door. We all fell to the floor laughing. It became the stuff of legend in our camp. 'Show’s over, f--kers' is still uttered (17 years later) on a semi-regular basis."

Moving on to how he taught Jack various tricks to do with his genitals, Flynn recalled being the best man at each others' weddings and more somber moments, sharing the pain of loss of Jack's older brother and his mother. These losses deeply affected Jack, leading him to abuse prescription pills and eventually heroin.

Explaining how he pleaded with Jack, trying to penetrate the addicted mindset to unearth an awakening, Flynn shared a story from his own experience with the drug. "The night that we signed the contract with Roadrunner Records on Oct. 10, 1993, a buddy and I decided to go do some heroin at his dealers to 'celebrate' after a long night of drinking at The Omni in Oakland," he wrote. "They shot me up (I could never do it), and I OD-ed. I woke up six hours later on a filthy bathroom floor in a puddle of vomit, feeling like death. And at a heroin dealer's house they weren’t about to call an ambulance to save me. They just hoped I was alive."

Going on to detail how his wife Genevra was furious with him after learning about this, Flynn then mentioned that her father died as an alcoholic / heroin addict. Using this anecdote as a chance to circle back to Jack's death and funeral, Flynn wrote that his friend had died from the overdose in the bathroom stall at a Mexican restaurant.

The Machine Head frontman also detailed his last interaction with Jack when they both jammed at Flynn's birthday bash and Jack had played Metallica's "Creeping Death."

Grateful for the memory, past happiness then faded back to the sad reality as Flynn penned in closing, "But I've just been staring off into space all day, depressed, little hollow. And mad. F--kin' mad at you Jack. Because I loved you. Because I f--king loved you and it f--king hurts a lot right now, and I don’t know what else to do except type these stupid words. Hurts a lot to know that I’m never going to get to laugh with you. I still have your last voice message on my phone. And I'm crying writing this down. Because I miss you. Because I wish you were still here to call me 'Robbie Lee.' Because the show’s over... …f--ker."

Read the Full 'General Journal' From Robb Flynn

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